Reading a post on the TOF (www.theonlinefisherman.com) website we discovered that one of the site moderators (those are the folks that make sure everybody's comments are "clean") was planning their second annual camping/kayak fishing trip to fish the waters of Florida Bay. The campsite would be located inside the Flamingo Campground which is inside the Everglades National Park at the very southern most tip of Florida's mainland. Three of the NCLA group (Delores, Lori, and Rita) decided to join in on the adventure and so plans were made to organize the trip.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23rd: By 6:00 a.m., we were packed and ready to spend the next six hours on the road heading down to Flamingo, with a few scenic stops along the way. How grateful we that gas was affordable and that we didn't hit any major traffic jams heading south.

Couldn't resist a stop at Robert Is Here, the last tourist trap we came up on before actually arriving at the Everglades National Park entrance. Glad we did, too, because it was a perfect place to pick up some fresh fruit for the next several days.

Delores picked up a kayak fishing mascot. "Wilson" will keep her company so she'll have someone to talk to while she's out there on the water away from the rest of the group. We'll see how much good luck he brings.

After an uneventful six hour drive, we found ourselves at the "gateway" to the Everglades National Park, where the toll attendant, affectionately named "Patch" because of the patch he wore over his right eye, politely request $10 to allow us to enter his park domain. We were $10 poorer per vehicle, but happy to comply. He smiled as he motioned us to move forward as there were "six other vehicles behind you, Jimmy".

We entered the park around 12:30. It was 81 degrees, cloudy and breezy. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

The next 38 miles were spent crawling at a 40 mph pace behind a line of sight-seers as we continued to remind ourselves "It's about the journey, not the destination" but at the same time asking ourselves "are we there yet"? all the while taking random pictures.

By 1:00 p.m. we had arrived at the Flamingo Campgrounds and took a few minutes to take a deep breath and take it all in. Several of our TOF group had already arrived, set up their tents, and didn't waste any time getting their kayaks out on the water. The rest of us spent the the afternoon meeting our neighbors (Tom and Roger) and trying to set up our own tents in 25 mph winds. The silver lining was that the skies were amazingly beautiful, and the strong winds kept the mosquitoes and midges at bay for most of our stay.

Tom, his wife Lisa, and Roger here are living "off the grid" for a while. Phil (not shown in this picture at the moment) is two campsites over and is also flying under the radar for a bit. Nice "tree-hugger" kind of guys, though.

Rita and Lori were the last to get their tent set up. You thought we were kidding when we said 25 mph wind? Just look at their hair.....were were not kidding!

Luckily we had a few minutes to take a group photo of all the ladies that had joined in on this weekend of kayak fishing. Let's see who we have here: (from left to right)Carrie - she came with her husband, Kurt. They drove up from Key West where they live.Rita - one of our NCLA girlsPam - One of our "soul-sisters" from Tampa. That woman can FISH!!!Delores - NCLALori - another of our NCLA girls

Rita, one of our own (in the pink shirt above), seemed to be the camp chef most evenings whipping up all kinds of salads, main dishes, and desserts. She even ran into town and brought back donuts for everyone! We ate good, there's no doubt about that!

By 6:30 p.m. we were "toast". We'd all been up and at-'em for at least 12 hours and had packed a lot of activity in that time. With full bellies, we just sat around the campfire for the next couple of hours and joked, laughed, and told fishing stories until we all peeled off one at a time and headed for our tents. Saturday was just right around the corner and we didn't want to miss any of it!

SATURDAY, JANUARY 24th: The winds had settled down considerably during the night and we could hear owls hooting in the trees. The lack of a breeze at night gave way to intense humidity which, in turn, allowed the mosquitoes to infiltrate the camp. Not in an overwhelming sense but to the point where the morning sun allowed us to see how many of them had gathered on the outside of our tent screen trying their best to find a way in to say "good morning". The strategy then became - how to get ourselves outside of the tent without letting any of them inside. That, coupled with a local weather report calling for 90% chance of rain, was going to make for a very interesting day. No concrete plans were going to be made. We would have to juggle some ideas around over a couple of cups of instant coffee.

Bands of came and went during the first few hours of the morning and we dodged them by taking cover under a large pavilion behind one of the buildings. It was the perfect opportunity to get rods and reels rigged for a day of fishing after the rain storm passed. Tampa Pam wasn't wasting any time! We just wondered when it was all going to blow past. We were getting restless.

After one rain shower passed and before the next one approached, we took a short walk to the nearby marina and marveled at how close we got to an osprey nest. Nothing short of incredible!

Nothing says "Welcome to the Marina" more than a flock of seagulls waiting for a opportunity to say "Mine, Mine, Mine".

By 11:00 a.m. we just couldn't stand it anymore. We could see that more rain was coming but we just spent the last few hours pacing like a tiger in a cage so we took a break between the rain showers and launched our yaks despite the upcoming rain. We were half hoping that the wind would push it around us instead of on top of us but that was yet to be seen. We would take our chances. As long as lighting wasn't involved, we were good. By this time is was 70 degrees and partly cloudy with 12 mph winds. Perfect time to make our move.

It only took an hour for the last and hardest rainband to slowly pass over us. We could see it coming and had already agreed to take shelter under someone's dock to wait it out. It was 12:00 by then anyway so we broke out our lunch and drank a beer under the pier. We could see Kurt and Carrie in the distance getting dumped on by the down pour but they had paddled out to the point of no return. They were going to be drenched no matter where they ended up. We figured we had set ourselves up pretty good launching an hour earlier during the break in the storm. At least we were 100% ready to fish as soon as it passed over us and and a half hour later we were free and clear.

The wind was still pretty stable for the most part. We had gotten used to it by now and even though it looked like it was going to rain on and off all day, it had actually stopped completely by 1:00 which was good because we'd just had about enough of that crap!

No sooner had we paddled only 100 yards from under that dock, Pam's line went buzzing. In a split second this fish had taken 30 yards of line and would've taken more if Pam hadn't have been right on top of it. It made three long hard runs before she could pull this big beauty to her boat. And since we had all stayed fairly close together so soon after paddling from under the dock shelter, we were right there to get this great shot!

NICE FISH, PAM !!!

And even though this is a ladies fishing club blog, we cannot ignore the fact that Ty, who happened to be fishing in the same approximate area, landed this Snook monster less than five minutes after Pam landed hers. His, however, was a couple of inches longer, measuring in at 32 inches. Again, it just so happened that a camera was nearby to capture it. :o)

That Hawg Trough measuring device only goes to 30 inches and it may be hard to see, but that tail is well beyond the 30 inch cut off!

Kurt and Carrie hadn't been too far away and came by to see what all of the commotion was about and lend a hand if needed.

We were certainly confused why, after two enormous sized Snook were just caught and released, not one single solitary fish was hooked into over the next couple of hours. It just didn't make any sense. Pam and Delores changed direction and meandered east along the mangrove line in hopes of at least catching a redfish. We would've been happy with just about anything at that point but it seemed that the only fish we could lure at that time were danged catfish! Very frustrating, for sure!!

We knew it would take us another hour at least to paddle back to the ramp so we reluctantly called it a day at 3:00 p.m. and made our way back. It would be time for a nice cold shower, some delicious grilled hamburgers, and another fun night around the campfire. Sunday would be another day.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25th: Saturday night was the total opposite of the night before. Where Friday night was warm, muggy and humid, Saturday night was damp, chilly and breezy with the temperatures falling into the low 50s. It was the kind of night that makes you grateful that you have a well insulated sleeping bag and warm p.j.s. One benefit of cold nights are the mornings when you wake up and your tent screen is mosquito free. It was one less thing we had to worry about at that moment in time. The only thing that could have drawn us out from underneath the comfort of a warm sleeping bag was the smell of coffee in the works. And it that wasn't quite enough to make you venture outside, then throw in a beautiful eastern sunrise to kick off the morning. And YES, that picture is real !!

But just because we were insect free for a brief moment in time, doesn't mean we were pest free. Turkey vultures were a dime a dozen all over the Flamingo campground. Like seagulls at the beach, they've been around the block a time or two and know the exact moment when you're not paying enough attention to your things. Turn your back for a moment with your tent door still open and you'll find one of these guys interpreting your laziness as an open invitation to come in and make themselves at home.

Sunday morning, after breakfast, a few of us stretched our legs a bit and walked to the Marina and the Visitor Center. The weather report called for partly cloudy skies but with winds between 10-15 mph. Pretty typical we were guessing for the area that we were in. Florida Bay is fairly open to the elements, one of which is wind. We decided to get a little leg exercise in before we spent the next several hours in a kayak.

By 9:30 a.m. everyone was on the water. And YES, it was THAT windy. Blowing well above the predicted 15 mph. It was more like 20 - 25 and we paddled as fast as our little arms could take us. Reaching our island destination with the wind to our backs was much easier than paddling back to shore against the wind. But once around the back side of the islands, protected from the wind, there were some pretty sweet spots. They didn't hold any fish, but the scenery was amazing.

The wind did not stop until later in the afternoon and by that time we had all paddled back inshore. Low tide still didn't bring any major catches. A few small trout, jacks and barracuda but nothing significant. Still, we were just so thankful for a couple of hours of clear skies and calm winds! By 4:00, we were all off the water, taking showers, eating a bite, and then gathering back at the evening campfire once again for a recap of the day's adventures.

MONDAY, JANUARY 26th: Sunday night was the calm before the storm. Weather reports predicted high winds for Monday along with a 70% chance of rain. There would be no fishing that day, and really not much of anything else to do as a group. We would be primarily confined to our own individual tents for the most part and where's the fun in that? We could do that in the comfort of our own home. So we, as a group, decided to use whatever dry air we were going to be gifted with come Monday morning and make a mad-dash to pack up all of our gear and hit the road back to the homestead. We said our "Goodbye"s to our camping neighbors and vowed to look for them when we return again next January. They weren't part of our group but we got to know them pretty well.

What a great adventure. From the excitement that we felt as we made the long journey down to the bottom mainland of Florida, to the beautiful scenery that surrounded us as we drove through the Everglades, to the unexpected and challenging weather (which we refused to allow to get the best of us) to the amazing personalities we met around the campfire as we got to know some of the TOF gang on a more personal level. We wouldn't trade the experience for anything and are already looking forward to the next trip wherever it may be! Thanks to the TOF crew for organizing the trip!